This episode is, as usual, based on the preceding piece from The Embassy - check it out for the full show notes. Here is an excerpt …
Shalom means peace and harmony and community and everything being as it should be - extending far beyond the bounds of mere avoidance or absence of conflict. If the shooting stopped today in Ukraine, and everyone froze in place - what many people are calling for - would it be peace? I don’t think so. Would it be as close to peace as we could get in this broken world? Hard to say. If the shooting stopped today in Gaza, would that be peace? Would it be as close as we can get? What should I pray for when I pray for peace? And how am I to be a peace-maker in a world where I don’t believe that ultimate peace, true shalom, is possible for me to bring about?
A peace maker is a person who acts in faith - who acts in faithfulness to the Prince of Peace - the only one who can bring real peace. Will my peacemaking make a difference? Probably not in Ukraine or Gaza, probably not on any grand scale - but maybe in that home near me, or in my own home, or place of work, or church, or community the story would be different. I don’t know (or control) if my faithfulness makes a difference in these places either - except that it will make a difference in me, and, from there, in those close to me. Blessed are the peacemakers does not come with a test to take afterwards to see if you get credit. Faithfully working toward shalom in all the areas of my life is blessed by God. When I seek to be a peace maker, I seek to be used by God to bring peace, His peace. We are called, as always, to trust Him for any outcome that may arise out of our imperfect faithfulness.
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